I regularly lament the lack of good pies on Edinburgh eatery menus so was very pleased to hear of the arrival of Pie Not Bistro. It builds on the success of their regularly appearing pie stalls at various markets.

Exterior

I was less pleased to hear of their location on Comiston Road as it’s a part of town I rarely find myself in. They have taken over the premises from the Morningside branch of August 21, a cafe whose other branch on Causewayside failed to appeal when I visited a while back.

The interior is quite stylish with a couple of window booths and smart table seating. They open during the day throughout the week with extended opening into the evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Food

Their menu unsurprisingly centres around pies but there are daily changing specials on offer and a selection of starters and desserts if you’re after a multi-course feed.

I was in simple pie mood. I took a recommendation from the friendly and attentive waitress who steered me towards either the steak or the curried cauliflower and chickpea. I opted for the latter adding fries and a portion of macaroni cheese on the side.

Things soon arrived looking a little underwhelming. The camp crockery was smart but the mac n cheese looked a bit grey and woeful. It proved to be watery and timidly seasoned. The other items were entirely better, though.

Pie and mac

The pie featured short, crisp pastry and the filling was packed with vegetable freshness with the cauliflower particularly good. Again, seasoning was slightly under but this was easily enough rectified with salt and pepper.

The stars of the show were the fries. These were along very similar lines to the excellent ones you get at Belted Burger – length-ways curls of crisp potato. They were excellent.

So overall, it was a slightly mixed bag from the Pie Not Bistro but at its heart it’s a fine pie purveyor. I’d like to see them flourish and expand to city centre premises as there’s a real gap in the pie market that I think they could ably fill. Give them a visit next time you’re in this neighbourhood.

Scores
Blythe scores Pie Not Bistro
3.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 14.5/20